Term begins this week and many students will be plunged straight into exams. We’ve had a look through the University Archives to find out what the students of yesteryear faced when they turned over their papers. Music, 1939 Prior to 1948, University College Nottingham had no power to confer degrees. All qualifications (and therefore, examinations) were …

Did you know that Russian has been taught at Nottingham for 100 years? The academic year 1915/16 saw the very first students enrolled on Russian language courses at what was then University College Nottingham. It began with one member of staff on a temporary contract to try to encourage the study of Russian, and led to the founding of …

Seventy-five years ago today, Nottingham residents emerged from their shelters into daylight to survey the devastation caused by an air raid and anxiously find out whether their friends and family were safe. For some, their worst fears were realised. Over 150 people were killed in the ‘Nottingham Blitz’, with several hundred more injured and over …

Our latest exhibition at the Weston Gallery opened last week, and it’s about a subject that is very close to us. Going Global! uses the University’s archives to show how a University College with a few hundred students grew to become the world’s first truly global University. The documents and objects on display trace the …

Those of you who follow us on Twitter might get a sense of deja vu with the images in today’s post! For the last few weeks we have been posting some of the many ‘mystery’ photographs from our collections, in the hopes that someone may be able to shed light on who the people are. Often we …

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About this blog

Manuscripts & Special Collections holds the archives and rare books at the University of Nottingham, based at King’s Meadow Campus. This blog regularly highlights material in the collections, and provides updates about exhibitions, teaching and other activities. Occasional guest posts feature researchers and volunteers working with our unique resources